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Stephen Bonnet
Stephen Bonnet is a pirate, smuggler, sometime murderer and all-round disreputable character, whom Jamie and Claire Fraser first meet as they leave Charleston, South Carolina. Personal History Bonnet was orphaned at an early age in , , and grew up self-sufficient by working as a cabin boy aboard trading ships. When he was seventeen, he found work in Inverness building the foundation of a house, where he was nearly used as a human sacrifice to fulfill an ancient custom. From that point on, he made seafaring his occupation, rather than work on land.Drums of Autumn, Chapter 39 Events of the Novels ''Drums of Autumn. Stephen Bonnet, when introduced in Drums of Autumn, was to be hanged alongside one of Jamie Fraser's kinsmen. After the man was hanged Bonnet escaped in the resulting confusion. With nowhere to go, Bonnet hid. When Jamie went to bury his kinsmen's corpse, Bonnet revealed himself. Bonnet asked Jamie to help him escape from the town, and Jamie obliged. Jamie hid Bonnet in his wagon, posing as a dead body covered in a tarp. As Jamie led the wagon out of town he was questioned by guards, who stabbed at the tarp to make sure that the body was a corpse. The guard stabbed Bonnet in the leg, but he didn't make a sound and Jamie's wagon escaped without incident. At the coast Bonnet went back his men. Jamie knew that Bonnet likely wasn't a lawful or moral man, but he helped Bonnet escape anyway. Later on, when Jamie and Claire are making their way upriver to River Run, Aunt Jocasta's home, Bonnet ambushes their ship. Bonnet knows that Jamie and Claire have very valuable gems. He finds the gems and steal them, along with Claire's wedding band from her marriage with Frank. Bonnet leaves the ship without injuring or killing anyone, as his way of paying back Jamie's mercy. Jamie curses himself for letting Bonnet escape from the law. The next mention of Bonnet comes when Roger Wakefield decides to go back into the past to follow Brianna Randall. Bonnet is captain of the boat that Roger works on to make his way to the Americas. Bonnet is a hard captain, and when an outbreak of smallpox hits the ship he doesn't hesitate to throw all overboard who show signs of the sickness. Roger finds a young woman on the boat who's child shows some signs of small pox and vows to protect her from Bonnet. Bonnet finds out, and recounts a story of how luck saved him from a ritual killing years past to Roger. Bonnet and Roger toss a coin to decide the fate of the child, and then Roger himself. Roger wins both tosses, and as soon as the boat docks, Roger flees. Bonnet next appears to Brianna. She finds him in a bar and he flirts aggressively with her. She quickly notices that he is wearing her mothers wedding band. Bonnet proposes that she meet him on his boat, and she agrees to meet him in the daylight. When she meets Bonnet, he takes her to his cabin and forces himself on her, and possibly impregnates her. As 'payment for his pleasure', Bonnet allows Brianna to take her mother's ring. Sometime after this, Roger finds Bonnet and steals the remaining gems that Bonnet first stole from Claire. Bonnet's last appearance in the book is in jail. News spreads that he was captured as he is a wanted man all over America. He is to be hanged once more, without trial as he was already convicted. Brianna meets him to come to terms with her rape before he is gone. During the meeting, it's revealed that Bonnet had an escape plan all along. His accomplice knocked Lord John Grey unconscious and set gunpowder to blow up the prison. Brianna convinced Bonnet to save her and Lord John Grey for the babies sake. After they are safely from the prison, Bonnet gives Brianna a black diamond from his mouth for the baby. Bonnet reveals that he sold one gemstone to buy the ship Roger made way on, that the other two were stolen from him, and then slinks to the shore toward his waiting ship. The Fiery Cross A Breath of Snow and Ashes Personality Physical Appearance Relationships Name Trivia * While Stephen Bonnet of the Outlander series is fictional, Diana Gabaldon has said that it is possible he is illegitimately descended from the real historical figure, .Compuserve Books and Writers Community – Diana Gabaldon on Stephen Bonnet's ancestry *Bonnet cannot read or write, and therefore does not trust receipts or paper money as payment, only gold or objects of intrinsic value.The Fiery Cross'', chapter 73 References Category:Characters Category:18th century characters Category:Characters in Drums of Autumn Category:Characters in The Fiery Cross Category:Characters in A Breath of Snow and Ashes Category:Deceased characters Category:Irish Characters